Shattered yet Unbreakable
by Crystal water32
Summary: An Oc story centered around the mysterious twilight cage and events that happen before the game: 'Sonic chronicles: the dark brotherhood' and after! Being rewritten. The concepts of teams from Sonic heroes will also be here. R and R!
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

_Always dark...never light. No hope...you're worthless. You are nothing more than a tool._

An echidna snapped her dark violet eyes open, abruptly sitting up on her bed. The thing wheezed upon her quick movement, but quieted down when she laid back down. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment, and sighed. Her vermilion orange, blue tipped quills were damp with a cold sweat, making her uncomfortable with the feeling. She sat up again, this time sitting at the edge of the bed. She took a glance at the night sky for a moment and her barren room, before reaching for the side table near her bed where she grabbed a dark-grey headband with an icy blue symbol and placed it on, activating the retractable helmet built into it.

'Good morning, Crystal the echidna.' The helmet displayed, going on with its usual routine of displaying all of her statuses, before showing the time: 5:55.

"Good enough," she muttered as she deactivated the helmet and placed the headband onto the bed.

Rising up, she stretched, fixing the sleeves of her black jumpsuit and looking at the faint blue, glowing crystals on her wrists. Waiving her crooked tail to get rid of the soreness she felt, Crystal looked to her closet across the bed. Walking across the cold, creaking wooden floor, she opened it, revealing all the pieces that made her outfit, dark grey armor. She placed them on the bed, before taking a worn-out, ripped towel and stepping across the hallway to a small bathroom. She stepped into the bathtub, twisting the cold water knob. The pipes groaned for a moment before giving a steady flow of water from the shower head. The echidna closed her eyes, letting the comforting cold feeling pour onto her and the jumpsuit. She turned around to scrub her quills down with the little soap she had. The girl couldn't feel the water on her back, pieces of armor were there that didn't come off, the reason why she couldn't take off her jumpsuit.

After scrubbing herself down, Crystal dried herself off before hanging the towel on the small rail in the bathroom. She then turned to the sink, taking the worn brush by the faucet and brushed her quills out. They were long, down to where the echidna's tail was, she never thought of cutting them off... And why should she? Three shorter quills fell by her left eye, sometimes they covering it completely, but not always.

Exiting, she stepped back into her room and quickly placed her armor on. It clicked into place easily, the helmet was tuned in with it to decide when it was needed to take it off. As soon as she was done, an uncomfortable tingling sensation went through her spine, making her hiss slightly. She then placed her matching medium length boots on and the headband, before stepping out of the room once more. This time, she silently walked down the dark, short, hallway into a near empty kitchen. She came up to an old fridge by a rusty stove and pulled it open, earning an audible creak from it. Peering inside, she grabbed a half of a foreign fruit she had been saving and sat on one of the two foldable chairs by an old square table. The echidna ate the fruit in total darkness, enjoying the sour, bitter taste.

When she finished, she scooped the seeds of the fruit up and placed them into a pile by the kitchen sink, knowing a better use for them.

Washing her hands and drying them, she placed on a pair of dark grey gloves, specially designed to tuck under the crystals on her wrist. Sitting back down on one of the chairs, Crystal activated her helmet and began checking on her things to do for today.

A door opened and closed, the sound of shuffling feet could be heard. Another echidna came to the kitchen, wearing a lighter shade of grey armor. He had three thick tangerine colored quills and two smaller ones just above his eyes, all tipped with green. As he turned on the only source of light in the room, a flickering lightbulb, he yawned for a while. Crystal looked at his left eye silently through her helmet, a blue scar could be seen on the eyelid, the ends of it visible when he had them open. His eyes were a lilac color, though the left one had a bluish tinge to it.

"Mornin sis!" He smiled at her before reaching for a teakettle settled in the oven under the stove. "Would you like some tea?"

"Sure, Ivan," she said as she turned her helmet off.

Pouring water into the kettle, he set it to boil as he looked over to the seeds.

"Good thing I told you to save them," he said as he picked one and placed it into a small worn out cup with some soil in it.

Covering the seed, he concentrated and exhaled slowly. A small plant sprout bloomed out of the pot, growing until it had several leaves on it. Crystal raised an eyebrow in surprise at how quickly he performed his little stunt.

"Not bad," she passed a hand through her quills.

"Thanks," he beamed. "I think I've practiced pretty well."

She nodded, examining her gloves. The kettle began whistling, Ivan turning off the stove and taking out two blue colored cups. Placing some of the leaves of the quickly sprouted plant onto the kettle, the boy waited before pouring the liquid into the cups. The smell of a bitter sweet herb spread into the room, the two enjoying the smell.

Handing a cup to Crystal, Ivan sat at the other chair across the small table, taking a careful sip. Crystal looked at the semi dark liquid, narrowing her eyes at it. A thin layer of ice formed on the hot drink before it broke away quickly. She sipped, enjoying the sweet, fruit like taste it gave.

By the time they finished the last of the tea, it was around 7:15.

"We should probably get going to the training grounds." Ivan tossed the cup into the sink.

Leaving to place his shoes, gloves and headband on, Crystal moved to the living room. It consisted of a barren room with only a worn out couch with several springs jutting out of its sides and a ripped recliner, the two having a complete mismatch in fabric.

Ivan came back, wearing everything he needed. Crystal walked to the door, gripping the handle and feeling how weak the wood was. There wasn't a lock at all on the door, as if there was anything to steal in the small house.

Closing it behind her, Crystal looked to the sky. It was dark as always, a large void. Violent swirls of violet and indigo gas danced by at a distance. She considered it the closest thing to clouds, but it wasn't the same.

Ivan glanced at the empty void, his eyes scanning past the dull, lifeless land around them to the steep edge of the large floating landmass they lived on.

"How long has it been since we've been here?" Ivan muttered, seeing the abyss so close to them.

"I'm not sure," Crystal began walking towards the center of the land mass. "Who knows how time flows here in the Twilight Cage. For all we know, Nocturne could've disappeared from the real world ages ago."

They made their way to the training grounds located under the large fortress at the center of Nocturne, called The Citadel. The barren landscape they lived in slowly transformed into a more technological state as they moved closer to the center, many stone houses and buildings coming into view. Many residents were passing by, minding their own business. No one socialized with one another, an armored echidna could be seen every now and again, heading to the center as they were. A large glow could be seen from the citadel, a reminder of how far the clan had gotten from being 'primitive'. Ivan always looked with awe at the mysterious glow, Crystal mentally frowning to herself as the large gates that surrounded the fortress like building came into view.

Two yellow and white robots stood at the gates, standing motionlessly before turning their heads to them. Giving a quick scan at them, they were able to open the large gates and allowed them in. Making their way around the fortress to a separate area that led underground, they spotted other soldiers ahead of them as they reached the stairs leading underground, it split into several hallways.

"I'll see you at home," Ivan went ahead, entering the one at the far right.

Crystal nodded wordlessly, heading to a different hall. Reaching the end, she was met with an empty room, a shielded balcony was above the opening she had just came from, several silhouettes could be seen on it. The lighting was low in the large room, allowing anyone to use the darker spaces to hide in.

"You were almost late," a disapproving voice came from an intercom.

Crystal stood motionless.

There was another opening at the other side of the large area, a tangelo and white robot emerging from it. An immediate frown appeared on her face.

"Hello Crystal," it said, a smile in its masculine voice.

"Scylla." She responded.

"Now come on," the smile grew wider in its odd, not-so-robotic voice. "We shouldn't keep things so formal."

The echidna sprouted small icy needles at her fingertips, waiting for Scylla to make a move.

"You've gotta admit I make a better challenge than anyone else here." It brought out a half-circle shaped blade, getting into a fighting stance.

Without warning, Crystal fired the needles, Scylla quickly breaking them away. In turn, it sent out a ball of fire from the other hand, Crystal casing her right arm in ice and shielding herself from it. The heat melted away the ice, steam coming off of her arm. The robot had already begun to move, trying to strike her from the right flank. Bringing out a half-circle blade of her own, she clashed it against the other. She low sweeped the robot to knock it off balance, but the thing jumped away. Sending blasts of fire at her feet, Crystal had begun backing away to prevent a possible injury. One blast went for her face, which she extinguished with a frost coated hand.

Scylla began laughing madly as the fight continued, enjoying the feeling it got of taking Crystal off guard by the many attacks. Though she blocked and retaliated well, the machine's strange way of fighting was hard to predict and anticipate, making her do a few mistakes.

Scylla was able to slash at Crystal's cheekbone, a small stream of blood flowing down her muzzle.

"I'd hate to scar that pretty face of yours," the robot's voice never faltered.

Wiping the blood quickly, Crystal dropped her blade and did a fast slash in the air with her arm. A wave of ice flew off of her, freezing it's left forearm. She then leapt at it, intent on kicking the arm off of robot, when an electrical surge went through her spine, she froze up and fell hard on the floor, wincing in pain.

"You cannot break the Gizoid." The intercom said. "The battle has gone far enough."

Scylla's glowing blue eyes shut down, a transport machine dropping in to take him away. Crystal growled at the feeling, straightening up.

"Now for an assessment of your battle," the voice continued. "Form, poor. Defense, poor. Speed, needs improvement."

As the voice continued to berate her, Crystal's thoughts went to Scylla calling her pretty. She mentally scowled at the thought. She wasn't here to attract anyone and the Gizoid knew it. He merely used it to get her electrocuted, truly a cunning robot till the end of a battle.

"Move onto the other room,"the voice said.

Without another word, she walked towards the entrance Scylla had come out of. As she walked down the grey, well lit hallway, her helmet turned on on its own, displaying where she needed to go. Following the directions, she entered a much smaller room with a group of five young trainee soldiers, judging by the jumpsuits they wore.

"There she is," the instructor of the class grunted, a scarlet echidna with chopped off quills. "About time."

Crystal only gave a chilling glance at the students, all breaking eye contact with her quickly.

"Students," the instructor began. "This is Agent Crystal, one of the few assassins in our entire military. This class is kept under wraps and since you five are the top ranking of your class, you are entitled to know about it."

If she could roll her eyes, Crystal would've, her rank wasn't anything special. The only reason she was placed there was for the fact that her abilities could kill surrounding allies. With the forces spread thinly throughout the twilight cage, a small group was assigned to tie up loose ends. This class was kept to keep enemies in check and kill of anyone secretively if necessary.

"Don't think this class is considered amazing," the instructor assured. "They're usually unstable outcasts, and we always need to keep them under control, observe."

A small port at the right wall of the room opened and dropped off a remote with a knob and a couple of buttons.

"This device is linked to an electrical system inside Crystal's spine, with a simple push, I can have her writhing in agony."

"But wouldn't that kill her?" a hot pink echidna questioned.

The instructor glared at the student for a moment before merely saying, "It depends on the amount of volts. Not that she should worry about it, as long as she does what she is told to do."

Oh how Crystal would've enjoyed to end the guy right then and there, treating her as he was now. But she knew better, the students would've seen it as an act of insanity and quickly report her, where chaos knows what would happen then. As much of an outcast she was now, she did not need anymore problems between herself and high ranking officers, such as Procurator Shade, the one who suggested she live outside of the city.

* * *

**Authors note: I decided to rewrite this cause I didn't see the same vision I wanted in the previous one. With senior year being a hassle, it sorta messed me up... But I feel this one's better :3**

**Whatcha think? Review pleaze!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

After the instructor had talked a little more about the different classes, he dismissed Crystal, allowing her to leave. Wandering down the hall, her boots left a loud echo, making her feel uneasy. There were other doors she walked by, but they were all empty, due to most of the students leaving to go spar with someone.

Receiving a signal to go to the sparring grounds as well, Crystal came to the _VERY_ large hard steel field, a faint smell of sweat hitting her nose. The sounds of grunts and metal hitting metal were everywhere, but it wasn't that that bothered her, it was the sweat. Scrunching her muzzle for a moment, she did notice the heat as well, probably from the amount of soldiers in the room. Flicking her hands upward to the dark grey ceiling, she cooled the room down by a few degrees.

A rust colored echidna approached Crystal, the armored wings of a Decurion on her back.

"Have you been ordered here?" She questioned.

"Yes."

"Very well, you may pick a sparring partner."

"I've never had one, usually they are told to do so."

The echidna nodded curtly, her wings humming for a moment before she rose up from the ground and swept over the sea of other students. Crystal looked on emotionlessly, seeing the Decurion land too far for her to see what she was up too. After a few minutes she came back, landing softly in front of her.

"Wait here, someone will come for a quick sparring lesson."

* * *

Even when she had cooled the large room, the heat came back quickly from all the movement everyone did. Crystal felt slightly disgusted by the drying sweat on her neck and under her quills, already thinking of getting another cold shower. The rest of the 'morning' in the training facility was a blur, learning strategies assassins needed to know to which part to cut at on the gelatinous body of a N'rrgal warrior, which was horrid. The acidic smell of its decaying body was nearly overwhelming for her, clawing away at her nose. The smell kept her from thinking straight so she forgot all about her helmet and the benefits it had of filtering air. Thankfully the lesson didn't last long and she was finally able to breathe properly when the instructors had dumped the body away and filtered the air.

Lunch was announced so Crystal left for the mess hall. Food was served on the left wall where the entrance doors were at, to the right were the long rows of rectangular tables where anyone could sit wherever they wished. Some form of protein was always available, whether it was in the form of mush or a gritty grey square. Ivan had told her that it sorta tasted like meat, or that's what he thought the taste was like since he hadn't had some in so long, they didn't typically have meat, only on very rare occasions. The thought of that mush having that kind of taste gave Crystal a twist in her stomach, shaking her head quickly before grabbing a bowl and filling it with some foreign fruits and vegetables. Some would say it was unhealthy to not have any form of protein in one's body, but Crystal didn't care, she had made her mind up to not consume any ever again and she intended on sticking to it.

Sitting on the corner furthest from anyone, she grabbed one of the vegetables and bit off a chunk. The taste was sharp and herby, giving off the smell of celery. She looked around quickly at the other tables, spotting Ivan several tables away chatting with others. The bright look in his eyes said he was probably proud of something he did earlier and he was impressing the other soldiers who enjoyed his company.

Crystal felt the edge of her lips tug up a little, happy to see her brother happy. Finishing the vegetable, she grabbed one of the fruits and checked to see if the soft skin was edible. It seemed to be, so she bit off a chunk. It had a near similar taste to the fruit she had in the morning, but this one had an odd aftertaste. Turning it in her hands, she picked up the conversations of others.

Two girls were a couple tables away wearing grey jumpsuits, occasionally glancing at Crystal which she could see from her peripheral vision. They would look at each other in confusion and sneak a glance at her again.

"I can't believe Iving is related to her, she's so strange," the darker girl said, passing a hand through her quills.

"Right? I don't get why Ivan sticks around with her, he can move closer to the center if he wanted too. They don't look like the talk at all, and I wouldn't talk to my sister at all if she left a scar like that on my eye," The other agreed.

Poking around at the other contents in her steel bowl, Crystal did begin wondering why Ivan still lived with her. He was old enough to know how to care for himself in her eyes, and he was well liked enough to get a nice house closer to the city with some of his friends. She sighed mentally, she shouldn't complain about the company Ivan gave her. After all, he was the only family she had and the only person who had a good read on her. He knew her like an old worn out book you had read over and over and knew by heart, because of that, she could speak her mind easily and Ivan would understand, simply sitting there and absorbing every word she said. Afterwords, he would give a comment or two and a smile, which always comforted her.

Although, them talking about his scar did darken her mood again, reminding her of what she did that day...

_Flashback_

_A young echidna stood outside of the city, breathing slowly and carefully. She wore a light grey jumpsuit and had medium-length vermillion quills tipped in blue and she was constantly pushing away the smaller quills in front of her face. She hated when they covered one of her eyes, usually the left one. Taking in a deep breath, she extended her left arm out and made her hand into a fist, coating her entire arm with ice to make a form of a sword. She made a few slices to the air, striking an invisible opponent. But she got frustrated when she realized her arm was beginning to fall asleep from being motionless for so long so she made the ice break off into thin air. A much younger echidna was watching a few feet away, having a similar jumpsuit with three thick tangerine quills tipped with green and one little stub of a quill over his lilac eyes. They were wide with curiosity at seeing his sister perform her inexperienced moves, which he thought were amazing. Soon enough, he noted that she was so deep in her concentration that she must've forgotten that he has there because she had formed a long whip of ice with her right hand and began swinging it a little to test it. One swipe was a little too close to him for comfort and he stood up to back away. Her back was completely facing him when she swung the full length if the cold whip forward and then back, striking his face faster than he could blink..._

Crystal felt a mix of emotions flow over her at the thought of that day, anger, hatred, fear, remorse, she had struck her brother down and gave him that mark on his face and the change in his eyes. He had forgiven her quickly as he recovered, trying to make it seem like it never happened, but she had never forgiven herself. As means of reminding herself of what she had done, she allowed her bangs to settle over her left eye no matter how much she disliked it and promised herself to never get close to anyone else for the fear of making that mistake again. The announcement that lunch was over was given and Crystal quickly pocketed the fruit, as it was her dinner and possibly breakfast for tomorrow, along with pushing that flashback to the back of her mind again.

Now that the morning exercises were over, next came the afternoon 'exercises' which were not working with your physical strength, but instead with your mental state.

* * *

**A/N: Now you know of Iving's scar and you see how Crystal is treated by her peers, what's your opinion on it? Reviews are welcome! :D**

**Keep in mind that Sonic and the gang will come in, but all in due time :3**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

_(In a different dimension)_

There was smoldering smoke; thick clouds shadowing the left side of the burning scrap heap. It would've been able to seep in, but at the speed the rocket was falling, there wasn't a chance for it. Around it was nothing but clouds, though they were slowly getting darker in color, almost smog like.

A yellow fox tightened his grip on the controls to the burning hunk of metal. He needed to think, but the turbulence was making it difficult.

"Tails, we need to do something." A white bat broke his thoughts, seated at the copilot's seat. "A second wave is coming in, I'm sure of it."

It surprised him, usually she would call him several other names, but not Tails. He looked to her direction, trying to focus on her. Only the shine of her heart-shaped breast plate seemed to get his attention.

"My eyes are up here, darling."

A quick blush settled on his muzzle, but he shook his head quickly. He needed to think.

_"He got you off guard, that's it."_ He assured himself. _"Everyone here is counting on you to settle this."_

"Tails," a white glove waved in front of his face.

The fox looked to whomever was doing it.

"We need to make a plan, buddy." The blue hedgehog told him. "I doubt this thing can survive the crash. Just try to keep it steady ok?"

He nodded halfheartedly, a small feeling of relief entering his thoughts, now THAT he could focus on.

"Ok guys we need to think of a way out of this." Sonic turned to the passengers. "This ship is not gonna be the thing to take us to the ground. Any ideas?"

"This wouldn't be the first time Sonic has taken us on a near death experience." A red echidna grimaced. "I suggest we jump off, somehow."

"Yeah right," A pink hedgehog, turned to him, hugging a frightened rabbit. "THAT would get us killed if anything."

"THE-SITUATION-CALLS-FOR-DRASTIC-MEASURES." A large red and black robot droned, standing motionless at the back. "I AGREE WITH-THE-RED-FOREST-CREATURE."

"Forest creature?..."

"Well if we need to jump," Rouge called. "I'm up for it, if that's the only way off."

Sonic passed a hand through his quills. Did it really all come down to jumping? He was fine with it sure, but what about the others? Another rock of the ship.

"We need to move. Now." A black and red hedgehog stood up. "Omega what is the altitude?"

"TOO-HIGH-FOR-FOREST-CREATURES-TO-LIVE-THROUGH. ALTHOUGH-IT-IS-DECREASING-RAPIDLY. I-PREDICT-YOU-WILL-BE-ABLE-TO-JUMP-OFF-IN-9:00."

"Whoa whoa, Shadow," Sonic came up to him. "What makes you think we _ARE_ jumping. Not all of us can teleport or fly y'know."

"Do you see another way off?" The ebony hedgehog gave a dark, challenging look.

"Uhhh-"

"Didn't think so. We'll need to split up. All flyers need to carry at least one person."

Amy looked to Cream, who held her tightly, her Chao holding onto to her.

_"Why did I agree to let her come..."_ She thought. _" 's gonna kill me."_

"Miss Amy? Are we gonna be ok?" A large purple cat asked, seated behind them.

Amy gave a weak smile to him, trying to look calm. His small yellow eyes tried to reflect her calmness, but the tremors were making him scared.

"I can teleport two." Shadow said. "Omega will be one of them."

"Take Big, Shadow." Amy said. "He can't be carried by anyone."

"So be it."

"Knuckles, take Cream. She can't fly like this." Sonic looked to the frightened girl.

"Ok, but someone needs to stay to control the ship so we can jump." The echidna stood up.

"I'll do it." Shadow walked past them to the cockpit, keeping balance as another tremor shook them. "Just go."

Rouge looked to Shadow as he got Tails to move, grabbing the controls.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked. "We could-"

"I said I would do it." He cut her off. "Just get ready to jump."

Hesitating, she stood up, and followed Tails out to the others. Another tremor knocked them off their feet, Shadow muttering a few curses in the cockpit.

The ship was balanced again, everyone getting back up.

"Tails? Think you can fly us off?" Sonic put his hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I can," Tails assured.

"Looks like you're coming with me, Pinky." Rouge walked up to Amy. "Omega how much time?"

"3:00-AND-COUNTING."

"Big, stay with Shadow." Amy let go of Cream, getting her to Knuckles.

Seconds ticked by, Knuckles getting Cream to ride piggyback on him, Cheese grabbing onto one of his quills.

"Now Shadow!" Sonic called.

The hatch was opened, the pressure making everyone's ears pop as a violent wind flew around them.

"ITS NOW OR NEVER GUYS!" Sonic yelled over the wind, looking to everyone else.

He and Tails were the first to jump, followed by Knuckles with Cream and the two girls.

Tails felt all his muscles screaming at him as he clutched both of his best friend's arms. It was easier flying when one started from the ground, but fighting gravity like this was a whole different story.

"Tails! How ya holding?" Sonic asked.

"Ff-fine." He grunted, forcing his tails to turn twice as hard.

The hedgehog turned his head, trying to see the others through the darkening clouds around them.

Knuckles was in his gliding position, Cream hanging onto his back with all the strength she could muster. Cheese was tucked into his quills, making it easier on where to keep track of him.

"I'll get you to your mom Cream don't worry," he said over the wind.

Her grip got tighter on him as a response. Focusing on keeping a steady flight, Knuckles couldn't help but feel this sense of foreboding crawl up his spine.

Amy kept her knees high, using her legs to cover her frilly undies as the wind forced her dress too high for comfort.

Seeing what she was trying to do, Rouge dove down a little more, causing Amy's dress to fold over, covering her a bit.

The girl was about to yell a thanks when a shot was heard, making everyone look down. Several points of light could be seen through the clouds, a high whistling sound coming right for them.

Rouge gasped and quickly pulled a nose dive, lasers flying past them.

"How long did we leave?" The bat muttered to herself.

Sonic grunted and swung his body around, helping Tails to maneuver around the beams of light. He cursed himself for letting this happen. He should've convinced Eggman to follow them to the Twilight cage, his little 'someone-needs-to-stay-to-open-another-wormhole-to-let-you-back-in' story reeked of BS from the start. He gritted his teeth in frustration, hoping Eggman had done nothing too drastic.

Knuckles' gliding allowed for him and Cream to be much lower than everyone else, avoiding the line of fire. He sighed in relief, grateful that he and the small girl weren't caught. The guardian began searching for signs of the ground, trying to make sense of where he was. Silhouettes of buildings were coming in, causing the guy to conclude that they were dropping in at Station Square. The smell of burning gasoline and metal reached his nose, his eyes watering quickly. The echidna was never used to the smell of city life, but immediately, he knew something wasn't right about this.

He gaped at the scene coming into view below him. It was as if a war happened in their absence, the buildings were damaged beyond repair, a mystery they were still standing. Vehicles of all sorts were either overturned or burned to pieces. Missile craters dotted the area, leaving a mess in their wake. The smog they were flying in made everything look grim and dark causing Cream to let a whimper out, looking away.

"Rouge!" Amy called. "I think we're at Station Square!"

The G.U.N. agent's ears twitched, aside from hearing her 'passenger' and the wind, there was literally nothing on the ground and it worried her. Usually there was the bustle of a busy city, but there was not a sound. She heard Amy's small gasp at the sight unfolding before them, a dead, broken city. A red dot could be seen at the distance, Knuckles. She picked up the pace, meeting up with the guy just seconds after he landed on a much sounder looking building.

Cream ran to Amy quickly as they landed, the hedgehog trying to tell her everything was going to be fine as soon as they reached her mom.

Rouge walked up to Knuckles, who was at the edge, looking to the sight around them.

"Seems Eggy got a little busy," she looked around.

"Yeah," Knuckles frowned. "If he had all this time, Chaos knows what he's done to the rest of the world."

A bright flash on an intersection close to them got their attention, Shadow with Omega and Big at his sides. They looked around, in complete shock at the destruction.

"HEYYYYYYYY! BIG, SHADOW!" Amy called.

They turned to their direction when they heard a low rumbling sound a couple blocks away. It changed to a march, an army of robots approaching. They were different than the normal bots Eggman built, they had a cannon on their left arms, a blunt object on the other hand.

"I'm guessing he had time for that." Rouge answered the statement.

Shadow was the first to move, performing a Chaos Spear at the first line of bots.

"Stay with Cream, Amy." Knuckles leapt off, making a beeline for one of them and smashed its head in.

Knocking a few back, one charged a beam behind him and was about to fire when a blue blur zipped by, leaving a hole in the bot.

"Started the party without me?" Sonic sped by Shadow, who was skating towards the small army.

The dark hedgehog merely 'humphed' in response, forcefully sending a robot back with a kick.

"Tails," Amy said as he landed by her. "How did this happen?"

"I'm not sure," he looked around. "But one thing's for sure, we've been gone for too long."

She looked to Rouge, who was assisting Omega in taking down a group of the bots.

"We need to get answers," she said.

Convincing Cream to help her off the building, Amy found Big standing confused as he looked to the city.

"Where are all the people?" He asked.

"That's what we're planning to do, Big," Amy said. "As soon as we reach Cream's house, we're looking for answers."

"Are you sure you should leave Amy?" Tails asked. "We don't even know what could be out there."

"You and Sonic need to stop Eggman," She said. "We need to help the people and mobians."

He looked with worry, turning back to see Sonic and Shadow finishing off the last ones.

"Sonic!" Amy called. "We're splitting here, we need to find Cream's mom and any people."

He sped to her quickly. "Are you sure? We haven't landed here for less than a minute and look what happened."

"We'll be fine," she said. "Just stop Eggman for us ok?"

He gave her a thumbs up before she ran off with her team.

"I hope she'll be fine," Tails said.

"I'm sure she will," Sonic said. "She is Amy after all."

They turned to see Shadow examining the remains of the battle, sifting through pieces.

One, whose lower half was obliterated, hummed for a moment before its chest plates moved aside, showing a screen. Omega pointed his gun to it, ready to attack if necessary.

Static flickered on the screen before morphing into the being who was the cause of all this.

"Sonic the hedgehog," Eggman grinned. "It's been quite some time since I've seen you or your friends, seven years to be exact."

The blue hedgehog lowered his ears in irritation and bewilderment. They were gone for that long? No, they couldn't have... Right? He expected nothing to be different when he came back, yet all of this happened. He saved everyone when he defeated IX... Didn't he?

"And after all this time of being without an adversary," he continued. "I was finally able to achieve what I wanted. And I admit to it being rather boring. G.U.N. wasn't even a challenge. I've even gotten them to join in my army."

A small gasp escaped from Rouge, Shadow remaining emotionless.

"You'll lose like you always do, Egghead." Sonic glared.

"What is there to lose when there is nothing for you to win for anymore, Sonic?" Eggman's grin grew wider. "I still expect some form of resistance from you and your friends, I suppose it could be my last means of entertainment with you."

Omega fired at the bot, leaving nothing but metal pieces and bullet holes once he was finished.

"EGGMAN-IS-TO-BE-FINISHED." The robot droned. "THE-PURPOSE-OF-HEARING-HIM-GLOAT-IS-UNNECESSARY."

"We should split to take him down from different sides," Tails suggested. "It won't be as easy for him to counter us."

"True," Rouge agreed. "But we need to plan first. For all we know, Eggman could've built a trap for us. We need to look around first, gather information."

"I suppose, so," The fox muttered. "We should."

"Okay," Sonic looked to Tails and Knuckles. "Where should we start?"

"Can we go to my house first? Maybe I can get somethings to help us."

The hedgehog nodded, quickly taking the lead with Tails and Knuckles behind him.

Watching them leave, Rouge turned to Shadow. "I've been wondering, what happened in the Twilight Cage when you kept leaving the ship?"

"Nothing of importance... Yet.

Let's go find G.U.N."

"Good idea," the bat hesitated for a second.

With that they sped off.

* * *

**A/N: And now we have Sonic and the gang! How do you think people will react when their hero has come back after leaving for seven years?**

**Reviews are welcome~**

**(Oh my its almost a new year!)**


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